Manning, Mewett & Sankoff – Criminal Law, 5th Edition

This book authoritatively articulates the governing principles of criminal law, and features a clear and comprehensive analysis of every offense in the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Canada's premier treatise on criminal law has been thoroughly revised and updated once again. Written by defence counsel Morris Manning, Q.C. and Professor Peter Sankoff, Manning, Mewett & Sankoff – Criminal Law, 5th Edition provides an updated, detailed and critical examination of the criminal law of Canada, from the governing principles of criminal law, to a clear and comprehensive analysis of important offences in the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as well as defences.

Previous editions of this text have been cited repeatedly by the courts at every level including the Supreme Court of Canada and every appellate court. The text facilitates efficient and focused legal research for practitioners, providing them a foundation upon which to build cogent legal argument. The text also provides the judiciary with a comprehensive reference of the existing criminal law and enables them to consider where new developments might be desirable. Thus, it is an essential resource for Crown and defence counsel, the judiciary, academics and students alike.

The new edition has been thoroughly revised to account for the many major developments in criminal law that have occurred since the publication of the previous edition in 2009, including a variety of new offences that did not exist at that time. Similarly, the new edition also provides in-depth expert analysis on the significant changes to criminal law defences which have emerged during the same period, including the new "streamlined" self-defence regime and the Supreme Court's revisiting of the "air of reality" test.

You'll learn how to:

Understand the scope and weaknesses of Criminal Code offences

Pursue avenues of effective and persuasive arguments

Understand the Canadian criminal law within the context of its constitutional framework along with its common law heritage

Assess the relationships between offences and defences

Consideration of Controversial Topics such as:

The weighing of circumstantial evidence and measuring the objective components of a defence;

The usage of the "Air of Reality" Test to deprive the accused of his or her sole defence and to force a defence upon them;

The obligations imposed by the right to life, liberty and security of the person (under s. 7 of the Charter) upon the State in creating new criminal sanctions;

In light of the 2013 reforms, when do the various types of self-defence of the person apply?

The use – or lack thereof – of the vagueness doctrine as a premise for Charter challenges;

The innocence of the mistake: transferred intent and its inconsistency with the basic principles of criminal liability;

The definition of the proper scope of sexual assault and the defence of honest belief in consent.

New in This Edition

Analysis and discussion of the new "stream-lined" self-defense regime instituted by the courts;

Substantial analysis of the Supreme Court of Canada's multiple re-visiting of the "Air of Reality" test for the ability to successfully raise a defence;

Coverage of new Supreme Court of Canada decisions on transferred intent in the defense of mistake;

Discussion of new case law or legislative developments in such areas of identity theft and fraud, sexual offences (including the new legislative framework for prostitution-related offences), motor vehicle offences, weapons offences, strict and absolute liability offences, corporate liability in criminal law and many more;

Updated analysis of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms' limitation on criminal law, including discussion of Supreme Court of Canada cases such as R. v. Khawaja, Canada (Attorney-General) v. Bedford and Carter v. Canada (Attorney General).

A One-Stop Reference For:

Criminal defence lawyers and Crown attorneys who must be able to analyze every criminal offence quickly and in-depth

Judges who need to make informed decisions about cases involving criminal law

Law students who need a complete overview of how the Criminal Code operates

Featured authors

Morris Manning

Peter Sankoff

Morris Manning

Morris Manning, Q.C., C.S., J.D., was appointed Senior Crown Counsel in 1973 and Queen's Counsel in 1978. As Counsel in the criminal law field, he prosecuted in the trial courts and acted in appeals before all levels of court. As a Certified Specialist in criminal litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada, he has acted as Defence Counsel at all levels of court. Mr. Manning, Q.C., has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on more than 100 occasions. He has been an editor of several Canadian law reports and has authored three criminal law texts, including The Protection of Privacy Act – An Analysis and Commentary (Butterworths),Wiretap Law in Canada (Butterworths), and Rights, Freedoms and the Courts: A Practical Analysis of the Constitution Act 1982 (Emond/Montgomery). Together with the late Professor Alan Mewett, he co-authored the first Canadian text on criminal law, of which this is the fifth edition.

Peter Sankoff

Peter Sankoff, B.A., J.D., LL.M., is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland (New Zealand), Faculty of Law, teaching in the areas of criminal law, evidence, and animal law since 2001. Mr. Sankoff was a law clerk for The Honourable Madame Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé at the Supreme Court of Canada. Between 1999 and 2001 he worked for the Canadian federal government as an advisor on human rights matters involving criminal justice. Mr. Sankoff is the Co-Author of Witnesses, a treatise on the substantive, evidentiary, and procedural laws relating to witnesses, the Portable Guide to Witnesses and numerous articles on human rights, criminal procedure, animal law, and evidence.